Future trips: Dornie, Scotland (6 walks) 9th to 16th May 2027 • Dartmouth, South Devon Coast (4 walks) 25th to 28th June 2027 ▪Ludlow (3-4 walks) 6 August to 10 August 2027.
Christmas Party - December 1, 2026, save the date
30-year anniversary of SWC - May 22, 2027, save the date. You are invited to share your stories and memories of the club by adding your comment to the post below.
Length: 11.5 miles (18.5 km) 6/10
This walk has worked really well at this time of year with good paths, autumn colour and mushrooms. Friday Street makes a satisfying high point even without the sadly departed Stephan Langton pub.
Travel: 1011 from Victoria (Clapham Junction 1018, Epsom 1052), arriving Dorking Main station at 1107. You could get the 1023 from Waterloo (arr 1116) and catch us up. The 0951 from London Bridge to Redhill involves a long wait before the 1040 to Dorking Deepdene arriving 1052, but this would give you time to intercept the group on the road from Dorking Main station. Returns at 17 and 43 past the hour to Victoria, 30 to Waterloo and around 54-59 from Dorking Deepdene to London Bridge via Redhill.
Lunch: The Wotton Hatch (01306-887694) on the A25 at Wotton after 7½ km, serves food all day and has a large beer garden with views of the North Downs, although it inevitably has some traffic noise from the main road.
Just before the pub, we pass the church of St John the Evangelist which is a suitable picnic spot.
Tea: quite a few options in Dorking, see the main walk page.
Shortening the walk: the short walk on the walk page takes a lower route from Wotton to Westcott avoiding the ascent through woods to Friday Street, to make a walk of 10 miles/16 km (4/10). Those with local knowledge may also be able to show you how to avoid the steep ascent of the Nower on the way in to Dorking towards the end of the walk.
L=SWC.274
#2026-11-04T10:00
This walk includes a good mix of woodland and open countryside, with fine views from the steep-sided hills overlooking the Darent valley.
The walk starts with a stiff climb to the top of Otford Mount and then leaves the Walk 1–43 route to go through the secluded valley of Magpie Bottom, one of several small nature reserves in the area managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust. A steep descent through the wooded White Hill brings you to the attractive village of Shoreham and lunch.
The afternoon section starts with a climb up the other side of the valley into a fine bluebell wood. After a close encounter with a motorway the walk descends via another small nature reserve, Polhill Bank, then an easy stretch along the Darent Valley Path into Otford, another attractive village with many interesting old buildings.
Sunset is at 16.42, so good light for walking until 17.15 or somesuch.
“This walk explores the Nadder Valley east of Tisbury, part of the West
Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which is spectacular
walking country with some breath-taking open vistas in a varied landscape.
Without scaling any ridges or steep ascents, the route meanders through the
beautiful undulating and peaceful countryside with a few grassy U-shaped
valleys, pretty views out to some distant coombes, and scenic Dinton Park with
its grand mansion (Philipps House).
A couple of picturesque former corn mills on the Nadder River are walked past,
while the afternoon route also offers views from a wood’s fringe across a
valley to the Fovant Badges, regimental badges cut into the chalk, and the
largest group of hill side figures in Europe, before leading through a couple
of quiet villages followed by a gentle descent across fields back into Tisbury,
a remarkably unspoilt village. The route features several good bluebell woods
and wild garlic-lined paths, and it also goes through plenty of meadows and pastures
rich in wildflowers, especially buttercups.”
For walk directions, map, height profile,
photos and gpx/kml files click here. #2026-11-01T09:15 T=swc.249
Sunset is at 16.37, so good light for walking until 17.15 or somesuch.
Take the 09.27 train from Marylebone to Aylesbury Vale Parkway (Harrow-on-the-Hill 09.39), arrives Wendover 10.16. Return trains: xx.54 to 17.54, then xx.24.
This walk combines some of the finest elements of the Chiltern Hills, while having very little overlap with other walks in the area. After leaving Wendover in a south easterly direction on the Ridgeway the walk rises into woods, which are rich in Bluebells in springtime. It then passes along fields to get to the picturesque green in The Lee, a conservation area village. From there it continues through woodland and the beautiful Lee Common to a 16th century lunch pub at Swan Bottom. After crossing some more fields, the afternoon section then leads entirely through woods right up to the outskirts of Wendover: it re-joins the Ridgeway for a while and then descends steeply off the escarpment down an ancient Holloway. Only to rise again, on forest tracks with some magnificent panoramic views, until getting to the highest point of the walk in the middle of Wendover Woods. From there the route to Wendover meanders through the woods, passing a wildlife hide and an ancient hill-fort site, before descending steeply to the plains.